Tokyo, Japan: Tokyo stocks rose, leading Asian markets on Monday, while oil and the U.S. dollar fell amid hopes for a Middle East peace deal.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped about 3% and crossed 65,000 for the first time. Taiwan stocks also hit a record, while MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index outside Japan rose 1%.
Brent crude fell about 6% to USD 97.75 a barrel on Monday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate dropped nearly 6% to USD 90.87 a barrel.
AP also reported a sharp oil drop, with U.S. crude at USD 91.08 and Brent at USD 97.08, after U.S. President Donald Trump said that peace talks with Iran were making progress.
The euro rose 0.33% to USD 1.1646, while the Japanese yen firmed to 158.85 per U.S. dollar.
Read: Oil Prices Iran Deal Hopes Push Brent Below $99
Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, said markets were watching the tone of peace headlines rather than a firm deadline for a deal.
The Strait of Hormuz remains central to the market reaction. The route carried about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war.
